Hand delivered that night.......didn’t know that, but sure glad it happened that way. The arrogant fraud got a taste of his own medicine
Cal's honeymoon at Arkansas is already over
- Thread starter silentsaregolden2.0
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It absolutely did . I don’t have many connections or get much inside information but I do in this case .
I don’t think people Understand just how much Mitch despised Cal. Yet he still sucked up his pride and orchestrated that public sit down and vote of confidence a few days before Cal overplayed his hand. I think AD’s in general have a shit job and that had to be an all time shit week for ours. At least he’s pulled off two good bball hires this past year.
Yeah Kentucky really didn’t meet any kind of demise similar to Memphis. When he left Memphis they were getting popped for D Rose and even still the fans and administration was begging for him to stay.
Kentucky’s demise at the end of the Cal era was more of a cultural implosion as a result of him
Staying. The fans were largely done and the AD wanted him gone but couldn’t realistically move him.
Basketball wise we didn’t suffer a lasting demise at all. A few months after it all went down we are still sitting here in top 10 with a bright future.
What we saw was the demise of Cal, not Kentucky.
I don’t think that’s true. Those girls took a lot of shit and they should have ignored it but they didn’t. But yeah they did endure the worst of us.
it hasn't been a full year yet - something could still be out there yet to be discovered
Mitch has made several mistakes, he hired BCG, he bit on Cal's UCLA leverage and gave him a fat contract with an impossible buyout and he bit on aTm's leverage and gave Stoops an impossible buyout.
Those last 2 put the university in a really bad spot and giving Cal that one sided contract is some of the reason Cal is who he is. It fed his ego and he knew he had UK by the balls. We just witnessed the worst side of Cal the last few years, now Arkansas is gonna see it.
Cal knew UK couldn't fire him, so he could do whatever the hell he wanted and he did just that.
He wanted UK badly in 07 when BCG was hired, he finally got the job in 09 and I'm sure he had SOME great intentions, but I don't think he ever had UK's best interest in mind, I think it was always about him and the NBA. Looking back on it now, he never regretted his "greatest night in UK history" comment. That guy really has a hard on for the NBA.
It seems like maybe Kentucky's current players don't have handlers. If that's the case, I hope it stays that way.
I will say Mitch was in a no-win situation with Cal in the contract situation in 2019. Seeing what we got out of Cal, it looks horrendous giving the contract in retrospect but that was a time that Cal still had an extremely high approval rating and his stock was very very high. If Mitch had let Cal go to UCLA (the school who leads us in NCAAT championships) and then Cal won MORE titles for them, Barnhart would have been mercilessly lambasted for centuries. I think everything worked out just the way God intended.
If Arkansas would play a team with a pulse they may lose. The are playing some teamed named Maryland Eastern Shore today. Wow, what a juggernaut! I’m the friendly confines of their home arena too. Do they ever leave Bud Walton?
Oh I think you are right. I would have been incredibly pissed if I was Mitch. Sticking your neck out on the line for all of the world to see that interview and then basically get stabbed in the back. I'd been furious. Mitch by no means has been perfect but as an AD you are only a about 50% right. Someone always thinks your a doing a shitty job.
That is true and we had just come off back to back E8 runs where we were a single stop and blatant ref cheating from a final 4. He absolutely should have re-signed him, but he should have sent a counter proposal where the buyout went significantly down based on results or years here. If there were no massive buyout the contract would have been viewed a lot better.
Is there anyone who knows the exact timeline? I remember Cal and Mitch had that meeting where some of us were hoping for a longshot of Cal being fired but it was all like a kumbaya moment with Mitch saying everything is good, we're all on the same page and just the utter dejection (that I felt anyway) that nothing was going to change. But then 48-72 hours later the news broke he was leaving for Arkansas. So I guess that meeting didn't go exactly the way Cal planned? Was he negotiating before or after the meeting? Was that he resented the idea of Mitch meeting with him about the state of the program and didn't think he needed to answer for anything?
I just hope we never allow another coach to do that to us.
The one power 5 team they played, Baylor, they lost.
Meanwhile Gonzaga and Tennessee absolutely pummeled Baylor.
Arkansas is in deep doo doo this year and anyone that thought UK fans were the issue, is going to see who the real issue was real quick.
I don't have a huge issue with the timing or the money. I do have an issue with someone that close to the program not knowing robic was the real genius and trying the contract to them staying together.
Want to know how stubborn cal is? Hes willing to let his legacy go down in flames rather than try to correct whatever went wrong there.
Want to know how stubborn cal is? Hes willing to let his legacy go down in flames rather than try to correct whatever went wrong there.
He gave Stoops the big contract 2 years ago after we got smoked by Vandy on our home field. Regardless of when, it was a stupid move.
I’m one of the few that didn’t really get bothered by all the NBA talk because I assumed it was just a recruiting pitch to the next Wall/Davis. Cal reveled in the fact that he could get kids that his peers couldn’t. He loved that he could win that game within the game it fueled his ego.
But boy you better win. The minute you stop winning that talk is gonna get thrown back in your face. Instead of chilling on that stuff he doubled down. He couldn’t get out of his own way
Didn't know if that bit was true or not
Love the decisive move aspect of the whole event
Another great chapter of UK lore to pass on - LOVE IT
I knew Cal was full of shit. I tried to ignore it, but that stuff wasn't just for recruiting. You don't have to sell kids on nba first, this is UK and every game is on ESPN and Rupp Arena is packed to the gills for every game.
Mark Pope is going to show Cal that you can put the players and program on equal ground and everybody wins.
Duke has been taking Cal's lunch for years, they're better at it and they are actually very proficient at player retention. They actually prioritize winning, Cal doesn't.
Anthony Davis and John Wall didn't need help getting to the league, the ones that needed help got told to sit the bench, or they transferred.
Yeah, what I don’t know is how Mitch found out. It could be that Cal or someone representing Cal told him or maybe he found out some other way before Cal was wanting him to know. Either way, there was no option for Cal to return.
I wasn't upset at all when Cal left. I thought that going to a school in our conference was a bit of a betrayal, but my thoughts turned to "who are we going to get now"? I, like most of the fan base, was puzzled when Pope was signed, and like most of the fan base, became a Pope fan quickly.
How do u know for a fact? Who do u know? I wish I knew people
Just a random thing this time . I’m related to someone on the litigation side in this instance. But over the years I’ve been lifelong friends with a few UK football players, had a buddy that was a manager for Pitinos teams, knew a team trainer that was on Stoops staff , and I’m pretty good friends with the father of probably the most popular player on last years team . Just spending your entire life in Central Kentucky causes things to line up that way.
I believe Mitch pushed the buttons that he knew Cal wouldn't agree too, essentially pushing Cal out. Calipari wanted to run the program with no interference, but Mitch told him he would have a year-end meeting every year, just like the other coaches and they would, together, evaluate where they were. Cal also wanted to hire Brad as an assistant and Mitch said no. So, Mitch took away the 2 things that were most important to Cal, so he decided to get out while "hot" and found a school that would meet his demands.
This is all true. Cal had previously held all the leverage. But boosters let Mitch know they would provide the money if he wanted use the buyout. Mitch didn’t want to do this because he goes to these people for other fundraisers and didn’t think it was right for them to pay Cal for underperforming. But he made sure Cal knew about it and it gave Mitch the leverage and he was going to force Cal to make some changes in how he was operating and was going to place oversight. Cal does not like being told what to do .I’m kinda thinking Cal had a “I’ll show them” attitude.
That’s awesome that you’re good friends with Dejuan Wagner
What's stopping him from retiring? Obviously he has enough coin for his great grandchildren to never have to work (Brad has to learn the birds and bees first of course), but Cal can decide to retire anytime he wants. He never has to worry about money.
The working class doesn't feel sorry for Cal one bit, nobody should.
